Favorite J bass VVT settings

[dabbler]

OK, be patient with me. I did a search for this and I DID read a dozen or so of the threads that came up, but none scratched my itch.

Somewhere a while back I ran across a post here on TB where the poster described their fav VVT setting as both volumes at about 75% and fine tuning from there. I didn't try it then, my usual setting was to start with them both at 100% and then drop one of them slightly to get different tones. My passive Js have audio taper pots for the tone and linears on the volumes.

Well, a few days ago I decided to finally try starting with them both around 75% and you know what!? I am surprised and impressed! My first impression was that as I rolled one of the volumes down from that point, I got a little more usable tonal variation between there and zero than when starting from 100%. The audible tonal changes, which before happened at the VERY end of travel near zero, seemed to stretch out a bit... of maybe it's all in my head.

But ALSO when taking one of the volumes UP from 75% towards 100% there was both an increase in volume AND a noticeable tonal variation. Again very usable. Right now I'm loving it!

I think I'm going to start using this for a while, but right now, I'm definitely enjoying the new-found control!

What settings do you guys find most useful for passive VVT J basses?

 

[nickpc]

On my Fender Jazz I will start with both volumes dimed and then back one off to about 75%. Tone tends to be wide open or dialed back to 75%.

Which volume goes down depends on where I'm playing/plucking - the pickup my thumb is resting on stays at 100%, the other gets cut. Usually - sometimes I do the opposite if I feel like doing something a bit different.

 

[Woofer]

Dime the neck, roll back the bridge to about 60%. Adjust tone to suit the song.

 

[sikamikanico]

When I had a J bass or any bass with VVT, i usually had both at 100% and then rolled one or the other down a smidge…but yeah, I realized that there was very little wiggle room for fine adjustment - very quickly turning down one pickup sounded pretty much like the other pickup soloed.

Then a few years back I read the trick you described, to run both at equal level but under 100% (eg 80/80) and adjust from there. I tried that at a store and indeed I too was intrigued by the tonal flexibility. However, I found two tradeoffs: one, turning down volume killed some treble. Maybe treble bleed would help, or maybe there were other tricks to mitigate that?

And two, I found it much harder to control - there was no reference point and I imagine it could be hard to get back to same settings, particularly when playing live. Perhaps one would get used to it, or one could do a custom detent at a desired position (I figure center/50% would be too low).

In the end, I realized that active electronics might be better suited for pickup mixing and I moved in other directions for passive schemes…

 

[dabbler]

When I had a J bass or any bass with VVT, i usually had both at 100% and then rolled one or the other down a smidge…but yeah, I realized that there was very little wiggle room for fine adjustment - very quickly turning down one pickup sounded pretty much like the other pickup soloed.

Then a few years back I read the trick you described, to run both at equal level but under 100% (eg 80/80) and adjust from there. I tried that at a store and indeed I too was intrigued by the tonal flexibility. However, I found two tradeoffs: one, turning down volume killed some treble. Maybe treble bleed would help, or maybe there were other tricks to mitigate that?

And two, I found it much harder to control - there was no reference point and I imagine it could be hard to get back to same settings, particularly when playing live. Perhaps one would get used to it, or one could do a custom detent at a desired position (I figure center/50% would be too low).

In the end, I realized that active electronics might be better suited for pickup mixing and I moved in other directions for passive schemes…

Yeah, your comment on the loss of reference is crossing my mind. Right now I'm thinking knobs with numbers (I love me some Luminlays) could fix that.

And I don't mind the treble drop, I don't run my treble knob at 100%. But if I did, I'd fix it at the amp. But I like your idea of adding a treble bleed. I just might try that, too.

 

[Mshraderbass]

OK, be patient with me. I did a search for this and I DID read a dozen or so of the threads that came up, but none scratched my itch.

Somewhere a while back I ran across a post here on TB where the poster described their fav VVT setting as both volumes at about 75% and fine tuning from there. I didn't try it then, my usual setting was to start with them both at 100% and then drop one of them slightly to get different tones. My passive Js have audio taper pots for the tone and linears on the volumes.

Well, a few days ago I decided to finally try starting with them both around 75% and you know what!? I am surprised and impressed! My first impression was that as I rolled one of the volumes down from that point, I got a little more usable tonal variation between there and zero than when starting from 100%. The audible tonal changes, which before happened at the VERY end of travel near zero, seemed to stretch out a bit... of maybe it's all in my head.

But ALSO when taking one of the volumes UP from 75% towards 100% there was both an increase in volume AND a noticeable tonal variation. Again very usable. Right now I'm loving it!

I think I'm going to start using this for a while, but right now, I'm definitely enjoying the new-found control!

What settings do you guys find most useful for passive VVT J basses?

I do the 100% on both and roll back the bridge pickup to probably 75% or just leave them both at 100 and roll back the tone.Those are about my only 2 settings

 

[Clark W]

my usual setting was to start with them both at 100% and then drop one of them slightly to get different tones.

I used to do that myself. But now, especially since I'm playing a bass that has a dual coil jazz pup(neck) and quad coil humbucker(bridge), and a 3 way series/single coil/parallel switch, dialing both volumes to that 60 - 75% range and adjusting each from there definitely gives more tonal options and adjustments.

But I like your idea of adding a treble bleed. I just might try that, too.

I run a treble bleed circuit on my VVT set up on my Custom Ferner. I like it. I'm also running a jazz pup and a humbucker, so the treble bleed is probably needed even more than say on a bass with two Jazz pups or a PJ setup.

When that bass was built, Kevin Ferner told me he was going to put that treble bleed in there and that if I didn't like it, it's easy enough to take out.

 

[Malak the Mad]

For me, I usually find myself bouncing between;

1. Neck 100%, Bridge 100%
2. Neck 100%, Bridge 85%-ish to retain a bit more of that Jazzy "bite"
3. Series mode…aka everything at 100%